Chapter 82

Lyra

We pulled up in front of the school, but I didn’t move.

The car was still running. My chest was still tight. And even though the sun was up and teenagers were filing through the gates with backpacks and half-finished homework, I was still sitting here, thighs pressed together, mouth sore, and brain foggy from everything he made me feel.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what Camilla had said. Not just the insults. Not just the jealousy. But that one line—”I’m human.”

I turned toward him slowly.

“Damon,” I said quietly, the word still sticky on my lips after everything we’d done, “Camilla said she was human. What does that mean?”

He didn’t answer right away. He stared straight ahead, his jaw locked, his hand still on the wheel like he was forcing himself to stay calm. I could see the way his chest moved—slow breaths like he was preparing to rip open a chapter of his past that he probably hadn’t told anyone.

“What does it mean?” I ask